Police Blotter: Missing Package, Assault Incidents in Township

May 1:  West Orange police were called to a home on Washington Street after a report of an assault at 10:28 a.m. 

Police said, Fredericco Rocha, 25, of West Orange said he was involved in a verbal dispute with Robert Leonardo, 47, of Nutley concerning a parking situation. According to Rocha, the dispute turned physical when he claims Leonardo punched and kicked him in the face, stomach and legs.

 Leonardo said he agrees the incident began as a verbal dispute, but says the dispute turned physical when he claims Rocha attacked him and tried to hit him in the face with a closed fist. Rocha also alleges during the physical assault, the driver’s side door locking mechanism was damaged on his 2001 Infiniti G20.

A witness to the incident saw both men involved in an altercation, police said. Sometime during the incident, Rocha received a scratch to his left cheek, but he refused medical treatment. Leonardo was uninjured. 

Police advised both men to file any future complaints with the court clerk.

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May 2: West Orange police are investigating the theft of a package from a mailbox on Old Short Hills Road. The woman living there said sometime between 12:52 p.m. and 5 p.m., someone allegedly took the package containing a red Apple iPhone case.

The woman said she ordered the case online and had a tracking number showing the package was delivered by the post office on May 1 at 12:52 p.m.
When she checked her mailbox at 5 p.m., the package was not there. She called the post office and an investigation is continuing.

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May 3: West Orange police and fire officials were called to a home on Gilbert Place after the residents were awakened by an explosion and subsequent fire in the basement.
When officials arrived, thick black smoke was emanating from the home. Fire officials extinguished the fire and deemed the fire not suspicious. The homeowner was taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center and treated for smoke inhalation.

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May 5: West Orange police arrested two women in a car on drug charges on Syme Street at 6:52 p.m. Police said they saw a Mazda 3 with heavily tinted windows parked at the curb and approached the car because the window tinting was too heavy.
 As they approached the car, the officers said they smelled marijuana and also saw two bags outside the passenger side of the car.
The driver, later identified as Chelsea Feimster, 21, of Verona, was asked to get out of the car. As she exited, police said, she allegedly told police, “I have a bag in the center console.”
The passenger, identified as Aneesa Zalina Ali, 22, of Orange, was then asked to exit the car.

Police then opened the center console and retrieved the bag of marijuana. Next to the marijuana, police said, was a grinder.Feimster and Aneesa were charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. They were released on their own recognizance pending a municipal court date on May 17.